New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) The government on Thursday denied any incursion by Chinese troops in Barahoti area of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand, saying it was just a transgression.
"There was no incursion as reported in media. It was just a transgression from Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in the Lok Sabha making a statement on the issue.
The Minister said there is a well defined mechanism to settle such transgressions.
He said the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China "has not been demarcated" and due to this perception of differences arise.
"Sometimes transgression takes place," he added.
Parrikar said that instances of transgression from the Chinese side have come down.
The opposition Congress, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress raised the issue in the House.
Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said the incursion took place near Chamoli and the Chinese troops had come around 200 metres into Indian territory.
"There were reports that the Chinese troops had also misbehaved with the local revenue department official in the area," the Congress lawmaker said.
Scindia said this was not one of a kind incident as such incursions were reported in Uttarakhand in 2014.
He said Chinese troops have previously tried to cross over to Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh.
Supporting the concern of the Congress member, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy demanded a statement from the government.
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said the Indian government needed to be more careful and cautious about China's intentions.
"I have always cautioned about China," he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Uttarakhand MP B.S. Koshiyari said the matter was "serious".
However, he insisted that it would not be proper to blame only the central government in case such incursions had taken place.
"The local state government too has its role in these matters," he said.
"Chinese people do come to the border areas from time to time but they go back when confronted by Indian security personnel," Koshiyari added.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government is firm that "it will not spare any action" to protect the country's international borders.
